In this country little research has been undertaken into the vast array of difficulties faced by students and the stressors that contribute to them, particularly in the professions allied to medicine. A pilot study of 40 students revealed that the major difficulty was completion of coursework and the emotional state of students gave cause for concern too. Finance was also a recurring problem. In the main study, 210 students were given a Problem Questionnaire, the General Health Questionnaire 30 and the Glasgow Symptom Checklist. Emotional lability was a significant finding. This was often accompanied by self-destructive thoughts. Anxiety appeared to be a prime manifestation of unresolved stress. A considerable number of students found the burden of coursework more difficult than anticipated which led to serious consideration of dropping out. Financial suffering was evident, confirming earlier findings. Highly stressed students had closer affiliation to the psychiatric than the normal population. 45 students from the main study were able and willing to continue with the research. An unexpected discovery was that many of these students suffered deeply but the severity of psychological manifestations had little bearing on the final academic results. Of the 45, indepth case studies of sixteen Honours degree students were carried out to illustrate the degree of stress among students, identify particular stressors and look at the outcomes. Personality and coping mechanisms' questionnaires were administered together with the health and problem questionnaires. Findings showed a similar pattern to the sample of 45. Coping resources on their own did not supply a satisfactory answer. A more pertinent explanation appears to lie in a theory of activation incorporating the ascending reticular activating system. This was allied to motivational concepts and closely related to Eysenck's personality dimensions. Conclusions are that students need more specialised and prolonged help for their psychological difficulties.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:bl.uk/oai:ethos.bl.uk:243535 |
| Date | January 1996 |
| Creators | Millings Monk, Evelyn L. |
| Publisher | Glasgow Caledonian University |
| Source Sets | Ethos UK |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Electronic Thesis or Dissertation |
Page generated in 0.0058 seconds